Good Juju | Left Hand Brewing Company

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Reviews by utopiajane:

Pours a beautiful clear orange with lots of bubbles that constantly find their way to the top. Thin head not much lace. Nose is authentic ginger. Crisp with a bite and an vivid scent. Maybe a bit fo hops on the nose to ffer some grass and herbal. Malt is a touch of dark brown sugar on a soft and light bread. Smells like a ginger snap cookie with a touch of vanilla. Taste is lovely. I love it. It's not an IPA. It does not drink like an IPA. It has a beaucoup ginger flavor on a beautiful light cracker. Touch of brown sugar,vanilla and a nice grass take you to a finish that is not dry but that has all kinds of ginger to tempt, to whet the appetite & to satisfy.

Pours a dark shade of orange with a quick dissapearing head,aroma of course is dominated by fresh ginger kinda sweet and and spicey pretty provacative.Taste is of ginger for sure with a toasted malt flavor that lingers in the finish,tastes better as it warms a little.A pretty unique beer not one I would get to often but not all that bad.

A: The pint looks like it's filled with apple
juice. There is no head and the lacing is
sparce at best.

S: The ginger is definately there. There is
distinct sweetness to the aroma as well.

T: A good amount of hop and a slight malt hint.
The ginger is definately present with a candy
sweetness in the aftertaste. The aftertaste
doesn't linget long, thankfully.

M: Good mouthfeel. Not syrupy as the sweetness
in flavor usually relates to. A nice medium
brew not without some substance.

D: Good drinkability particularly with Thai food
as I had it. I would assume that it would
also pair well with chocolate and cheese.
Not an all day on the lake drink, but an all
evening at the dinner table drink for sure.

Clear, weathered golden color with a decent lacing on top, which seems to do a lot of stick- ing around. Fresh candied ginger aroma; ginger snap cookies come to mind when the malt jumps in. Snappy crispness pops off of a fluffy, moderate-sized body. Ginger is clean with a mild bite up front--fresh, cracker-like maltiness is quite delicious. Mild hopping lets the ginger really do its job. Ginger flavor never goes over the top, but does linger and stick to the palate. Dry, gingery finish.

Warm weather beer? Or perhaps a beer to have before dinner to whet the appetite? Perfect use of ginger, as it can be a beast if wielded too much. We'd love to see this root used more often in brewing, so thanks to Left Hand for reminding us.

Appearance: Crystal clear, bright golden in colour. Pours a rather thick white foamy head, a bit creamy and it sticks to the glass.

Smell: Ginger, herbal with tropical-like fruit aromas.

Taste: Real smooth mouth-feel. Light bodied with a lot of up-front even malt sweetness that leans towards "sugary" in taste. Malt characters are biscuity and toasted. A fruity beer with tropical fruit-like flavours that complements the ginger / herbal flavours that follow. The ginger lends a nice bite to the brew and blends nicely with another distinct flavour, Saaz hops. Both create a nice spicy feel to the brew, that is refreshing and backs the crisp finish of the beer. I can also pick-up faint citrus hop flavours from the Cascade hops, and a soft hop flavour from East Kent Goldings. There's also some hop oils and hop leaf textures in the mouthfeel. The mixture of complex flavours is very tea-like. Aftertaste comprises of residual ginger flavours and some grain / biscuit notes.

Notes: This beer is brewed using a pale ale as the base with the addition of fresh organic ginger root, which has been used in brewing for ages but is quite uncommon these days. As a such, Juju is a rare treat and very unique. A most refreshing beer. I can also see this being a great "chick" beer -- no offense to all the women out there, but you know what I mean -- or a great introduction beer for those who don't really like beer.

22 oz bottle pours a hazy, apricot colored body with a small, offwhite, head that quickly disappears with minimal lace left behind.
Aroma is subdued, with a note of caramel and a pinch of ginger.
Mouthfeel has plenty of carbonation and a light body.
The taste is ho-hum. A weak malt presence, and a hint of ginger. This is very thin bodied, and while it's drinkable enough, it has little to recommend itself.
I suppose this would make a good summer quaffer, or "lawnmower beer".

Appearance: high carbonation, small head, clear, brownish gold in color

Smell: ginger and malt

Taste: ginger throughout, some malt, some tea taste

Mouthfeel: moderately bitter, medium heavy body.

Drinkability: This is an aquired taste beer. I will get it again, but cannot see myself drinking more than one in a sitting. I think it tastes like a mix between an amber ale and an iced tea. I good beer, but not one I could drink a six of.

The beer pours a golden-amber color with a white head. The aroma is strong ginger. It smells about like a batch of ginger snap cookies. The flavor is more of the same. This is liquid ginger snaps. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Not sure how often I would drink this, but I am glad I got to try it at least once since it is definitely different.

Good Juju opens to a fragrant nose that is somewhat reminiscent of the pink pickled ginger slices that come with sushi, for while the ginger is present in here, it’s far more subtle than that fresh off the root, muted and subtly pepper-spicy, though thankfully devoid of the vinegary sushi-ginger notes. Instead, here it comes across more like ginger tea, or ginger cookies, the ginger mixed with brown sugar and lending the fruit esters a darker tone, bringing out dates, figs, and maraschino cherries, as well as bits of orange. Given these aromas, there’s a distinct fruitcake feel here, though a fruitcake devoid of heavy spices. The beer is light and airy despite the dark fruit esters – again, like tea aromas – and bits of toast crust and biscuit do add earthy notes, combining with the ginger to produce bready gingersnap whiffs. As a whole, the aromas are nice, though obviously bearing little resemblance to a beer, and the ginger does mostly overwhelm everything else; a bit more sugary oomph would have helped the balance.

On the tongue, the ginger does have a lesser presence, still detectable, but at least allowing other notes to shine through. The gingersnaps and unspiced fruitcake overtones are still present, with brown sugar, vanilla, date, fig, maraschino cherry, and orange mixing with brown breads, biscuits, and toasted wheat bread. The underlying flavors are rather light, however, and it feels as if the beer would be rather weak on its own, made flavorful mainly because of the ginger. Towards the end of the mouthful there’s a strong sensation of ginger ale, as if this were more soda than beer. The aftertaste is also ginger ale, with bits of toast and grapefruit, and the ginger notes last for a good while. Mouthfeel is medium-light, and carbonation is medium.

Overall, this comes across as a rather watery pale ale into which a large dollop of ginger has been added. The ginger notes by themselves are nice, but could use a stronger support group. On the other hand, the ginger and weaker beer notes mean this would make a good accompaniment to a plateful of sushi, and the overall lightness makes for decent summer fare.